Trying

I'm trying to draw sheep. I thought I could maybe make some cards to sell. I'm also trying to rediscover water colours. I love the messy look, but it seems to require both messiness and precision in equal measure! I was in the art shop in Inverness this week and while it wasn't quite full there were certainly more people than just me in the shop which is usually how it is. The  man behind the counter said that since 'The Big Painting Challenge' currently being shown on BBC 2 he has seen an increase in customers! We're all at it apparently! Is anybody entering the 'Little Painting Challenge' competition?

Meanwhile I'll  keep trying to draw sheep....and people...and everything else!

I can always fall back on my wild life bird photography!

A bit of an eclipse and some spring

Lucille asked if we saw the eclipse. I would say yes in a kind of sort of way. There was a lot of cloud. It did get quite dark and gloomy, but it can do that here with or without the help of the moon. 

The day after the eclipse when cloud cover was not an issue we had a cloudless sky.

Spring has finally come north. The sun (when visible) has a warmth to it not noticed before.

A bit of a walk and a birthday...and a table top

It's chilly enough in the evenings to light the fire but during the day the sun has shone and it's been beautiful. Walking on Letterewe Estate. It wasn't a massive walk but it was lovely never the less and the intense light at this time of year gives such colour to the sky and surrounding landscape.

We celebrated Niels' birthday at the Kylesku Hotel. It only reopened last week after major building and renovation work.The season hasn't quite got going yet and we had the restaurant almost to ourselves. The food was good, and we tucked in before I remembered the obligatory food pictures!  The views from the restaurant windows even on a gloomy march evening are breathtaking.

A friend asked about my 'new' table I said I'd post a picture on here. Two old trestles left over from the house build and some spare floor boards...and a drop of Annie Sloan paint! And out of not much I made myself a solid practical work table. Niels wondered if I should paint out 'Wicks' but I think it adds to the 'make do' look of something for nothing...almost.

Faffing

My Oxford dictionary defines faff as a verb, meaning to spend time in ineffectual activity. So here is a little bit of  faffing!

It's been too cold to go out in the garden and start pulling up, tidying up, digging up and planting up. Instead I've dug out Annie Sloan's paint and had a little dabble on some Ikea drawers

When we were down in Surrey a good friend of mine gave me some of her china she no longer needed. She knew I loved it and had my eye on it and I probably asked her one day in a not very subtle way if I could have it!  Thank you Mrs T it's lovely and now we can have cake and proper tea in proper cups and I can faff around with my digital tablet and computer. Dabbling away to my hearts content while waiting for the weather to warm up so I can get out and engage in some less ineffectual activity in the garden!